Crank and braking mechanism for fishing reels

ABSTRACT

A braking mechanism for retrofitting onto a fishing reel allows the drag on the fishing line to be preset. The mechanism includes a braking wheel, a crank, and a stop. The stop is adjustably mounted on the crank. The fisherman moves the stop to a desired position to control the amount the braking wheel can be turned.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to fishing reels, and in particular acombined crank and braking mechanism for fishing reels.

Fishing reels are conventionally provided with a braking mechanism forcontrolling the amount of drag on the fishing line being reeled out by ahooked fish. The greater the amount of drag, the harder it is for thefish to pull on the line and the faster the fish becomes tired. Byproperly controlling the amount of drag, the fish becomes sufficientlytired to be reeled in before all the fishing line is reeled out.However, if too much drag is placed on the reel, the line can break.

A variety of fishing reel drives and braking mechanisms are known.Attention is directed to U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,076,097; 2,836,995; 3,326,492;3,375,993; 3,990,323; and Re. 24,153, all of which are incorporatedherein by this reference. A conventional braking mechanism includes amanual control member referred to in the trade as a star wheel asdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,076,097. The star wheel is threaded ontothe shaft used for reeling in the fishing line. The axial position ofthe star wheel on the shaft controls the amount of drag.

A problem that occurs even with experienced fishermen is that the amountof drag placed on the reel is made too large or too small. This is acommon problem because the fishermen becomes excited when a fish isfirst hooked. If the amount of drag is too large, the line can break. Ifthe amount of drag is too small, the line can run out before the fishcan be reeled in.

With expensive fishing reels, costing hundreds of dollars, a pre-setdrag control mechanism can be provided to avoid this problem. However,no such mechanism is available for the less expensive reels. Thus, whilethe rich fisherman catches his fish, the average fisherman is left withan empty line, if any line at all.

SUMMARY

The present invention is directed to a solution to this problem. Thepresent invention provides a crank and braking mechanism that can beretrofitted to existing inexpensive reels to provide a pre-set brakingmechanism so that once a fish is hooked, the amount of drag on the reelis predetermined.

The braking mechanism can be retrofitted onto existing fishing reels.Such reels comprise a spool, a brake for controlling the amount of dragon fishing line being reeled out from the spool, and a shaft for drivingthe spool, the shaft being provided with a threaded end portionextending axially outwardly of the spool. The braking mechanismcomprises a disc-shaped braking wheel for threading onto the end portionof the shaft to rotate therewith. The braking wheel replaces theconventional star wheel, and as with the conventional star wheel, theamount the braking wheel is threaded onto the shaft controls the amountof drag. The braking wheel has a slot extending circumferentially aroundpart of its periphery.

The mechanism also includes a crank mountable on the end portion of theshaft beyond the braking wheel. This crank replaces the crankconventionally provided with a fishing reel. The crank includes a stopextending into the slot of the braking wheel for limiting the amount thebraking wheel can be threaded onto the shaft. Means are provided foradjustably mounting the stop on the crank and for fixing the position ofthe stop on the crank so that the amount the braking wheel can bethreaded onto the shaft can be predetermined for predetermining the dragon the fishing reel.

Thus, merely by replacing the star mechanism and the crank of a fishingreel with the braking mechanism of the present invention, a fishing reelcan be converted into one that provides a pre-set braking load.

DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with reference to the followingdescription, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a fishing reel embodyingfeatures of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of a portion of the braking mechanism of FIG.1 taken along line 2--2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to that of FIG. 2 with the braking wheel of thereel of FIG. 1 rotated to its preset position; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the braking mechanism of the reel of FIG.2 taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION

With reference to the figures, there is shown a conventional reel 10without its conventional star wheel and crank. Reel 10 shown in thefigures is based upon a Penn reel 3/0H Special Senator Model 112Havailable from Penn Fishing Tackle Manufacturing Company ofPhiladelphia, Pa.

The reel 10 includes a rotatable spool 12 upon which a fishing line 14is wound and unwound. The spool is journalled between two end plates 16which are secured in their relative positions by means of spacing barsor pillars 18 therebetween. A mounting bracket 20 is used to releasablysecure the reel to a rod (not shown). The reel 10 includes a clutchmechanism with a clutch arm 21 mounted on one of the end plates 16.

The reel 10 includes a drive shaft 22 having an end portion 24 which isexternally threaded, the tip 26 of the end portion 24 being oblong inshape and having an internally threaded bore.

A sleeve 28 is slideably mounted on the outside of the drive shaft 22and engages a conventional brake (not shown) of the reel 10. The morethe sleeve 28 is forced inwardly, the more drag exerted by the brakewhen unwinding the fishing line 14.

The reel 10 is provided with a brake and crank mechanism 29 according tothe present invention. This mechanism 29 includes a disc-shaped brakingwheel 30 having a peripheral flange 32. The braking wheel 30 has athreaded hole 34 through its center by which it is threaded onto the endportion 24 of the shaft 22. The more the braking wheel is threaded in aclockwise direction as shown by arrow 36 in FIG. 2, the more the sleeve28 causes an increase in drag on unwinding the fishing line 14. Thebraking wheel 32 has a slot 38 extending circumferentially around theperipheral portion of its face. The slot has a first end 80 and a secondend 82. The slot extends for about 220 degrees.

A crank 40 is provided for cranking the shaft 22. The crank includes adisc-shaped section 42 having an oblong hole 44 through its center formounting on the oblong tip 26 of the drive shaft 22. A nut 45 holds thecrank 40 on the shaft, the nut 45 being threaded into the internalthreads of the tip 26.

The crank 40 includes a lever arm 46 extending radially from the centraldisc-shape portion 42. A shank 48 is rotatably mounted at the end of thelever arm 46. The shank has a hand knob 50 by which the crank is turnedfor cranking the drive shaft 22.

The crank 40 has in the disc-shape portion 42 a circumferential slot 52generally the same as the brake slot 38 and generally in registertherewith. Like the brake slot 38, the crank slot 52 is greater than 180degrees in extent, about 220 degrees in extent, so that there is alwayssome overlap between the crank slot 52 and the brake slot 38.

A stop mechanism is adjustably mounted on the crank 40 for limiting theamount the braking wheel 30 can be rotated on the shaft 22. This stopmechanism comprises a nut 54 having a head 56 and a threaded stem 58.The braking slot 38 has a width greater than the width of the crank slot52. The head 56 of the nut 54 is sufficiently small to fit into thebrake slot 38 but too large to fit into the crank slot 52. The stem 58extends through the crank slot 52, has a washer 60 mounted thereon, andis held in place by a finger nut 62.

In use of the braking mechanism 29, the braking wheel 30 is backed offto provide little, if any, drag on the fishing line 14 while trollingfor fish. The nut 54 is held in a fixed position on the crank with thefinger nut 62, the position being determined by the amount of dragdesired on line 14 when a fish is hooked. The location of the brakewheel 30 relative to the stop nut 54 is shown in FIG. 2 in this mode.Both the brake wheel 30 and the crank 40 rotate together on the shaft 22as the shaft is driven by the crank 40. The stop mechanism is shownbetween the ends 80 and 82 of the brake slot 38 in FIG. 2. If desired,the brake wheel can be rotated so that the first end 80 of the brakeslot is against the stop mechanism head 56.

Once a fish is hooked, the brake wheel 30 is rotated clockwise until thesecond end 82 of the brake slot abuts against the head 56 of the stopnut 54 as shown in FIG. 3, thereby providing a predetermined amount ofdrag on the fishing line.

Thus, the present invention provides a mechanism for predetermining thedrag on a fishing line for when a fish is caught. The fisherman, in theexcitement of hooking a fish, need not worry about putting too much dragor not enough drag on the line. The drag can be set for any poundage atthe discretion of the fisherman. This invention allows the fisherman topreset the drag at his discretion dependent upon such factors as boatspeed, size of line, type of equipment, skill of the fisherman, speciesand weight of fish expected to be hooked, and sea conditions.

Although the present invention has been described in considerable detailwith reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other versions arepossible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims shouldnot necessarily be limited to the description of the preferred versionscontained herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A fishing reel comprising:(a) a spool for reelingin and reeling out fishing line; (b) a shaft for driving the spool andprovided with a threaded end portion extending axially outwardly of thespool; (c) a disc-shaped braking wheel threaded onto the end portion ofthe shaft and rotatable therewith, the amount the braking wheel isthreaded onto the shaft controlling the amount of drag on the fishingline, the braking wheel having a slot extending circumferentially aroundpart of its periphery; (d) a crank fixed to the end portion of the shaftbeyond the braking wheel for rotating the shaft and the braking wheel;(e) a stop extending into the slot of the braking wheel for limiting theamount the braking wheel can be threaded onto the shaft; (f) means foradjustably mounting the stop on the crank comprising a circumferentialslot extending through a disc-shaped portion of the crank, the crankslot being in register with at least a portion of the slot of thebraking wheel, and wherein the stop is slideable in the crank disc slot;and (g) means for fixing the position of the stop on the crank so thatthe amount the braking wheel can be threaded onto the shaft can bepredetermined for predetermining the drag on the fishing line.
 2. Thefishing reel of claim 1 in which the width of the crank slot is smallerthan the width of the braking wheel slot.
 3. The fishing reel of claim 2in which the stop comprises (a) a head sized to fit into the brake wheelslot but too large to fit into the crank disc slot, the head beinglocated in the brake wheel slot, (b) a threaded stem extending throughthe crank slot, and (c) fastening means threaded onto the stem outsideof the crank for locking the stop in position.
 4. The fishing reel ofclaim 1 in which the shaft is both internally and externally threaded,and wherein the braking wheel is provided with threads to be threadedonto the outside threads of the shaft, and wherein the crank fits overthe outside of the shaft and is provided with a fastener that isthreaded into the inside threads of the shaft.
 5. A braking mechanismfor retrofitting a fishing reel, the fishing reel comprising a spool, abrake for controlling the amount of drag on fishing line being unwoundfrom the spool, and a shaft for driving the spool and provided with athreaded end portion extending axially outwardly of the spool, thebraking mechanism comprising:(a) a braking wheel for threading onto theend portion of the shaft to rotate therewith, the amount the brakingwheel is threaded onto the shaft controlling the amount of drag, thebraking wheel having a slot extending circumferentially around part ofits periphery; (b) a crank mountable on the end portion of the shaftbeyond the braking wheel for rotating the shaft and the braking wheel;(c) a stop extending into the slot of the braking wheel for limiting theamount the braking wheel can be threaded onto the shaft; (d) means foradjustably mounting the stop on the crank comprising a circumferentialslot extending through a disc-shaped portion of the crank, the crankslot being in register with at least a portion of the slot of thebraking wheel, and wherein the stop is slideable in the crank disc slot.6. The braking mechanism of claim 1 in which the width of the crank discslot is smaller than the width of the braking wheel slot.
 7. The brakingmechanism of claim 6 in which the stop comprises (a) a head sized to fitinto the brake wheel slot but too large to fit into the crank disc slot,the head being located in the brake wheel slot, (b) a threaded stemextending through the crank disc slot, and (c) fastening means threadedonto the stem outside of the crank for locking the stop in position. 8.The fishing reel of claim 1 in which both the braking wheel slot and thecrank slot extend more than 180 degrees.
 9. The braking mechanism ofclaim 6 in which both the braking wheel slot and the crank slot extendmore than 180 degrees.